Savior
by jagielski
Summary: When Rory gets into trouble, Tristan becomes her savior. Trory
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Savior  
**Rating:** Mature  
**Pairing:** Tristan/Rory  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gilmore Girls or the characters created by the writers/producers/etc. I only like to take them out and play with them.

**Warning:** This fiction contains the subject of rape.

**A/N:** This is the first piece that I have posted. I do hope you enjoy it.

Rory glanced around the crowded room and wondered why she was even here. She hated parties, especially Chilton parties, but Eric, who seemed like a nice enough guy, had asked her out and she'd agreed. She and Dean had broken up again three months earlier and she figured it was time for her to begin moving on. Accepting the date with Eric had been her first step.

Right now she was standing in the corner, alone, while Eric had went to find them something to drink. Her gaze landed on Tristan and when their eyes met he smiled at her. She returned it. While she still wouldn't consider the two of them friends they had been more civil to each other the past few weeks. He still occasionally made a few inappropriate comments but for the most part he had been behaving himself.

She watched on as he said something to the small group of friends he was standing with and took a few steps in her direction. She saw Eric walking towards her and it seemed Tristan noticed too. The smile fell from his face and Rory had to wonder why he was upset.

"Sorry I was gone so long," Eric said handing over the red plastic cup. "There was a line."

"Its fine," she said, letting her eyes wander to Tristan again. He was still standing in the same spot, just watching them with a worried expression. She forced her attention back to the cup she was holding and sniffed the liquid trying to detect any traces of alcohol. When she was satisfied that it was just fruit punch she brought it to her lips and drank.

"Want to dance?" Eric asked.

"Sure."

They set down their cups and he took her hand leading her to the dance floor. A slower tempo song came on and he wrapped his arms around her waist. As they danced Rory looked around the crowd and spotted Tristan. He was talking to group of guys but every few seconds he would glance up at her.

"Having fun?" Eric questioned.

"Yea," she lied. The fact was, she wasn't having any fun. Besides the fact that she didn't like parties, she wasn't feeling any kind of spark between the two of them. He was handsome, she wouldn't begrudge him that, and he seemed to be pretty smart, but he wasn't really her type. Not that she really had a type, but she knew he wasn't someone she wanted to date.

Her thoughts briefly went back to the last Chilton party she had attended, sitting on that piano bench with Tristan. She remembered her heart pounding, her palms sweating, and the millions of butterflies that had taken up residence in her belly. That was the kind of feeling she wanted with a guy. With Eric, she felt nothing.

She'd continue the date with him, it wouldn't be very nice to just leave in the middle, but she'd explain to him when he dropped her off at home that they couldn't date anymore. She could only assume that he realized there was no spark between them either. Maybe he was thinking the same thing.

They danced for a few more songs, some fast, and a couple slow before Rory needed to take a break. Eric had spotted a friend that just arrived so he went to greet him while Rory headed to find a bottle of water. As she was standing by the bin of drinks she felt someone come up behind her. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Why have you been watching me all night?" she asked. When he didn't immediately answer she turned to face him. "Well?"

"You're here with Eric," he said simply.

"Yea."

"Why?" he questioned.

"Because he asked me out and I said yes," she replied.

"Rory, he's not exactly innocent," Tristan started. "He's got a reputation."

"And you don't?" she scoffed. "Are you upset that I'm here with someone who's a lot like you but that I've always refused to go out with you?"

"It's not like that," he insisted. "I'm just worried that he'll want to go farther than you're ready for."

"Tristan, I appreciate the concern but I can fully take care of myself," she said. "I'm sure you have a date around here, why don't you go spend time with her."

"I don't have a date," he sighed. "But even if I did, I'm still worried about you."

She just stared at him then, wondering if he really was concerned for her or really just upset that she was dating someone with a reputation that wasn't him. She had known that he wanted to be the first to 'conquer' her, her being the school's Mary and all. As she looked further into his eyes she realized he was just concerned for her.

"Listen, there's Eric so I have to go," she said. "You don't have to worry about me Tristan, I'm a big girl."

"Just be careful Rory, I don't want you to get hurt."

Rory gave him a genuine smile before walking around him and joining Eric. She was glad that he had another cup of punch for her because after talking to Tristan she'd forgotten to grab a drink. Eric led her around to different groups of his friends, talking briefly before moving on to another. Rory kept feeling someone's eyes on her and every time she turned around she saw Tristan.

She was beginning to wonder why Tristan was so concerned for her, what kind of reputation did Eric have that made him so worried? Before she could process the thought any more she began to feel lightheaded. She looked down into the cup she had, wondering if someone had spiked the punch. She glanced around, looking for Tristan but he had his back towards her in a heated conversation with Paris.

Her eyes began to feel really heavy and she had to struggle to keep them open. Everything felt like it was in slow motion as she told Eric she wasn't feeling well. She saw a friend of his, the one he had went to greet, give him a high five before Eric took her by the arm and led her through the crowd. She had hoped that he was taking her home, but she realized they were going deeper into the house. She wanted to argue but she just didn't have the energy to do so.

She allowed him to help her up the stairs and when they went inside a room she saw a massive bed on one wall. She smiled thinking it was sweet of him to let her come up to rest when she felt so horrible.

"We're going to have a lot of fun Mary," Eric said.

Rory was confused. He called her Mary, nobody but Tristan was allowed to call her Mary. And what had he said about fun? Her legs got heavier as she walked across the room to the bed and they gave out when she was only a couple feet from it.

"What…what's going on?" she asked slowly, each word taking so much work to get out.

"Just relax," he said, helping her onto the bed.

The last thing Rory remembered before everything turning black was that Eric was unbuttoning her shirt.


	2. Chapter 2

Tristan sighed as he watched Rory and Eric walking around, talking to a lot of his friends. He'd heard several stories about Eric and although he wasn't sure if they were true or not, he didn't want to take the chance when it came to Rory. She was special, she was important and he wasn't going to let Eric hurt her.

"Tristan!"

He turned to see Paris standing behind him, not looking too happy. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Rory is here with Eric," she said as if that was explanation enough.

"I noticed," he sighed.

"You have to warn her," she said. "You have to tell her how he is."

"I told her he had a reputation," he replied. "She seemed to think I was just jealous because she won't go out with me."

"No," she almost yelled. "I've heard things about him Tristan, haven't you?"

"Yea," he nodded. "I've heard that he's slept with half the school."

"That's not what I'm talking about," she said. "He drugs his dates."

"What!?"

"Some girls earlier were talking; they didn't seem to notice I was there. One of the girls said that she went out on a date with Eric and caught him trying to slip something into her drink. She said that's what he does, he drugs them and then…"

"Oh my God, I have to tell her. You too Paris, I'm not sure she'll believe me," he said.

"Fine, where is she?"

"She's just right over there," he said turning around. He looked through the crowd but didn't see her. "She was right there."

"Oh God," Paris said.

Tristan looked around for the last group of guys he'd seen them with and when he didn't see them he pushed his way through the crowd. Paris followed closely behind. After a few minutes he found them in the kitchen laughing and giving each other fives.

"Where's Eric?" he demanded.

"He's busy," one guy laughed. "Give him an hour and he should be back around."

"Where the hell is he?"

"He's devirginizing Mary," the boy laughed.

Tristan clenched his fists and asked again. When the guy wouldn't answer him Tristan quickly moved forward, grabbed the boy by his shirt and pushed him roughly into the wall. "Where the hell are they?"

"What's your problem Dugray?" he asked. "You've been with plenty of girls."

"I don't have to drug the girls I'm with to get them to sleep with me," Tristan spit out. "Tell me where he is now."

"I don't know, upstairs I guess," he boy shrugged, a smirk on his face.

Letting go of the guy Tristan turned to leave. He realized that their little exchange had drawn quite a crowd, but he didn't pay them any attention. He grabbed Paris and pushed his way through the crowd.

"You take the doors on the right," Tristan yelled. "I'll take the doors on the left."

He walked in on a nearly naked couple, not even stopping to apologize before moving on to the next room. The third door was locked and when he pounded on it he heard Eric yell that it was occupied. "Paris, I need help over here, the door is locked."

"It's the same kind of locks that my house has," she mumbled as she dug through her hair, producing a bobby pen. Slipping it into the hole, she wiggled it around for a couple seconds and the door swung open.

"Hey!" Eric cried out jumping off the bed and pulling his pants up. Tristan felt sick to his stomach.

As he got closer to the bed he realized that while she was missing her shirt and pants, she still had her bra and underwear on. He let out a sigh of relief and turned to face Eric.

"What the hell?"

"You sick son of a bitch," Tristan hissed. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Pissed because I was taking what you wanted? We all know you have a thing for Mary. Angry that I was going to get to her first?" Eric smirked.

Tristan had had it. He let out a growl, swung his arm back and punched Eric. He stumbled backwards and fell, but Tristan didn't waste anymore time on him. He rushed over to where Rory was laying. He briefly looked around but didn't spot her clothes, so he took off his over shirt to put on her. It was a little difficult, but with the help of Paris they managed to get it on.

"You're going to pay for this," Eric said, standing up from where he fell, holding his bleeding nose.

"Screw you."

Tristan slid his hands underneath Rory's body and lifted her up. He carried her through the crowd of whispering people standing by the door and then down the stairs. Once outside he sat her in the front seat of his car and tried to wake her up.

Finally after several minutes she slowly opened her eyes. Tristan let out a sigh of relief and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Thank God you're okay."

"What happened?" she asked her voice soft and hoarse. But before he could answer her eyes closed again.

"I'm going to take her home," he said to Paris.

"I'll call Lorelai so she's expecting you," Paris said.

"Thanks," he replied. He buckled the seatbelt around her and shut the door. As he was walking around to the driver's side he heard Paris calling his name. He turned around to look at her.

"You're in love with her aren't you?" she asked softly.

"Yea," he sighed. "Yea I am."

"Take care of her Tristan."

He didn't wait for her to say anything else, just hopped inside of the car and drove away. As he passed the sign telling him where to turn for Stars Hollow he realized he didn't know where she lived. Pulling over to the side of the road he gently shook Rory.

"Hmmm?" she moaned, opening her eyes only a slit.

"I need you to tell me how to get to your house," he said.

"Left…Monty…Big rooster…jeep," she mumbled before passing back out.

Sighing at her reply he decided to keep driving until he got into town. From what he heard, it was a small town and anybody he passed was bound to know who she was. That was his plan, until he spotted a giant rooster ahead. He laughed, he'd thought her words were just some drugged up nonsense.

He followed the road until he saw a jeep in one of the driveways. He pulled in and before he could even cut the ignition a woman, whom he assumed by just looking at her was Lorelai, ran out of the house.

"How is she? What happened?" she demanded.

"I'll explain everything once we get inside," Tristan said, silently wondering why Paris hadn't already explained. He moved around Lorelai and opened the passenger door. He gently picked Rory up and followed Lorelai into the house. She led him to Rory's bedroom and he gently laid her down then turned to face Lorelai.

"So Paris didn't explain what happened?" he asked.

"Not really. She said Rory got into some trouble, and that you were bringing her home," Lorelai answered. "What happened to her date Derek?"

"Eric," he corrected. "He drugged her."

"What?!"

"I'm guessing he slipped something into her drink. I knew he had a reputation for being a player so I was worried about her, so I didn't let them get too far out of my sight. But then Paris started talking to me telling me she'd heard that he drugged his dates and then had sex with them. When I turned back around, they were gone. So, I forced his friends to tell me where they were and I found them in one of the bedrooms," he explained.

"Oh my God. Did he…was she…?"

"No," he assured her. "When I got up there she still had her underwear and bra on. He didn't get to finish"

"Thank you," Lorelai whispered. "Thanks for saving her."

"Don't thank me," he said looking away. "I shouldn't have let them out of my sight, and I turned my back."

"You can't blame yourself," she said. "When the time came you stepped up. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."

"It's no problem," he whispered turning back to face Rory. "I'd do anything for her."

"Tristan, are you…"

"Would you mind if I stayed?" he asked, interrupting the question he knew she was going to ask. "At least until she wakes up."

"Of course," she said with a small smile.

Lorelai walked out of the room and a few seconds later came back in carrying a chair. She sat it beside the bed and grabbed the chair from Rory's desk and put it on the other side. They both sat down, not talking, just waiting for her to wake up.


	3. Chapter 3

Rory's head was killing her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Her mother was sitting in a chair beside her bed and when she glanced on the other side of her she was surprised to see Tristan sitting there. As she looked closer she realized that they were both asleep.

She tried to figure out what was going on, why was Tristan in her house, in her bedroom while she slept? Then she remembered going to the party with Eric. Remembered starting to feel funny after the last drink that he brought her, and then him leading her upstairs as she got weaker. The last thing she remembered though was him unbuttoning her shirt. Oh God, what happened?

"Mom? Mom?" Rory yelled, shaking her mother.

"Oh Rory," Lorelai said as she woke up. "Thank God you're okay."

"What's going on?" she questioned. "What happened?"

"You're awake." Rory turned at the sound of his voice and saw that he had a look of pure relief on his face.

"Will one of you please tell me what happened?"

"I will," Tristan said, signaling to her mother that it was alright.

She sat there in a stunned silence as he explained the events of the evening. She let out a huge sigh of relief when he told her that he'd interrupted Eric before anything could happen.

She got of from the bed as he finished telling her everything and threw her arms around his neck. Tears were streaming down her face as she whispered her thanks to him. He put his arms around her waist and held her tight for a minute before letting go.

"I should probably go," Tristan said. "I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about."

"Stay!" Rory said quickly surprising both Tristan and her mother. She wasn't sure why she didn't want him to leave, but she knew that she didn't.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"If you don't mind," she said softly. "I…I just want you to stay a little bit longer."

"If it's alright with you Lorelai," he said.

"Of course," she nodded.

"Okay," Tristan said. "I'll stay then."

"Do you need to call your parents?" Lorelai questioned.

"No," Tristan shook his head. "They're out of the country for a couple weeks."

"They left you all alone?" Lorelai asked shock evident in her voice.

"I guess technically I'm not alone. The maid is still there, speaking of which, it probably would be a good idea to call her and tell her I won't be home for a while," Tristan said standing up. "She waits up for me sometimes."

"Tell her you'll be home sometime tomorrow," Lorelai said. "The couch is incredibly comfortable.'

"Alright."

The two girls watched as Tristan walked out of the room to make his phone call. Lorelai immediately climbed into the bed with Rory and hugged her tight. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too," Rory cried. "I'm lucky Tristan saved me in time. I'm sorry mommy."

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Lorelai scolded. "You didn't cause this. That boy is a complete ass. I have to ask Rory, what do you want to do about this?"

"What do you mean?"

"He drugged you and tried to rape you, and he would have succeeded if it weren't for Tristan," Lorelai said softly. "I'm asking if you want to press charges."

"I don't know mom," Rory sighed. "I mean, there were witnesses and everything, but do you know who Eric's father is?"

"No."

"He's a judge," Rory explained. "There's no way that the charges will ever stick. And if nothing is going to come out of it, I'm not sure I can go through all that."

"I'm going to stand behind you in whatever decision you make, but maybe just pressing charges will warn other girls about him. Who knows what will happen," Lorelai said.

"I think you should." The sound of Tristan's voice caused both girls to jump.

"What?"

"I think you should press charges against him," Tristan said. "He's done this before Rory, and he'll do it again. I'm not really sure he sees he's doing anything wrong. He needs to know that. Girls need to know to stay the hell away from him."

"But…" Rory said, pausing to steady her voice. "I'm not sure I can handle it. I don't know if I'm strong enough. Everybody will be talking about me; they're all going to know."

"They probably already do," Tristan said sitting back down in the chair he'd previously occupied. "You know how Chilton is; gossip gets around that place in record time."

"Then won't that be enough?" Rory asked. "Won't that be enough to warn other girls when they hear about it?"

"Maybe they won't believe it," he said. "I mean, if you didn't press charges, then what if it's just some stupid rumor to them?"

"I don't know," Rory said.

"I'm with your mother, I'm going to stand behind you in whatever decision you make," he said reaching forward to take her hand. "But just know that if you do decide to press charges that I'll be here for you. I'll be right by your side the whole time if you want me to."

"Maybe you should sleep on it," Lorelai suggested.

"No," Rory shook her head. "You guys are right. It doesn't matter what the outcome is, I have to stand up and fight. I would feel horrible for the rest of my life if he ever did this to another girl, especially if she didn't have someone like Tristan to save her. I have to do my part, or I'll regret it."

"Are you sure?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes. We should go to the police station now," Rory said firmly. "It's all fresh in our minds, and if we wait then things will just be harder. Plus, I'm sure they'll do a drug test on me, to see exactly what it is he drugged me with."

"Alright," Lorelai said. "Can you just give me a minute? I need to make a couple phone calls."

"Dad?"

"Yea and your grandparents," she said. "I don't want them to hear it from friends or anything like that. They need to hear it from me."

"Okay."

"I'll be quick," Lorelai said.

"So," Tristan said once Lorelai had left the room. "Are you sure you're going to be okay with this?"

"It'll be hard," Rory sighed glancing down at their still joined hands. "Did you mean what you said?"

"About standing next to you?"

"Yea."

"Every single word. Listen, there are things….things you don't need to hear right now, but when the time comes, I'll tell you about them," Tristan said. "And besides that, what Eric did was wrong. I…I'm just glad that I got to you before he had a chance to hurt you."

"I'll never be able to thank you enough," she said.

"You already have Rory," he whispered. "Letting me help you is thanks enough."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked. "We're not even friends really."

"Like I said, the time will come for me to explain all that to you," he smiled. "Besides, I do consider us friends; we just had a quirky relationship."

"Well that's one way of putting it," she laughed softly. "Maybe things could be better now, between us."

"They will be," he said. "You'll see."

They sat in a comfortable silence until Lorelai finally came back into the room. Rory only hesitated slightly before climbing out of the bed.

"Before we leave," Tristan said a little uncomfortable. "Maybe you should put some pants on."

"Oh God," Rory said with a blush. "I'll be out in a minute."

The drive to the Hartford police station was a quiet one, none of the three really knowing what to say. Once they arrived and parked the car they headed towards the front door. Rory in the middle, Tristan holding her left hand and her mother taking her right.

"May I help you?" the desk sergeant asked.

"Yes," Rory said her voice barely above a whisper and shaking badly. "I need to report an attempted rape."


	4. Chapter 4

They'd spent several hours at the police station. Lorelai had been forced to wait out front and Tristan and Rory had immediately been separated. She'd had to tell her story several times, and assumed Tristan was doing the same. They asked her dozens of questions, most of them the same just worded differently. She knew they were just doing their job, making sure that she hadn't fabricated the entire story but she was starting to get frustrated. It hadn't been an easy night for her and all she wanted to do was go home.

Finally they seemed satisfied that she and Tristan were telling her the truth. After they took a sample of her blood to find traces of the drug, they informed her that hey were going to immediately arrest Eric, that night, and speak to the people that Tristan could remember that saw them, especially Paris.

The ride home seemed to take forever and Rory had trouble keeping herself awake. It was four in the morning and she was exhausted. Glancing over at Tristan she could tell that he too was tired.

When they got to the house Lorelai and Tristan both saw her to her bedroom and waited for her to fall asleep before leaving.

It wasn't too much later, when Rory woke up, drenched in sweat. She had had a nightmare. It was still dark, so she Rory knew that she hadn't been sleeping long, maybe only an hour. The wind blew outside causing a branch from the tree to hit against her window. Even though she knew that's what it was, it freaked her out. As fast as she could she took off into the living room where Tristan was fast asleep on the couch.

She hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should wake him up or not, but then she heard another noise and instantly got over it. She started out gently shaking him, and when that didn't work she shook him harder.

"Rory?" he mumbled sleepily. When he saw her frightened expression he sat up immediately. "What's going on? What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," she said, tears slipping from her eyes. "I had a nightmare, and then I heard noises. You must think I'm a big baby, but I didn't…I don't want to be alone."

"Its okay honey," he said softly, pulling her onto the couch beside him. "I don't think you're a baby, all of this is completely understandable. You went through something horrible Rory, and it's going to take some time to get over."

"I'm scared," she said. "And I don't know why. I mean, it's not like he actually raped me."

"It doesn't matter," he whispered. "He almost raped you. I'm sorry Rory. I should have saved you earlier."

"But you did save me Tristan," she insisted.

"I'd never of been able to forgive myself if something had happened to you," he said.

They fell into a comfortable silence and after a few minutes Rory began to get sleepy again. She didn't want to go back to her room alone and debated on whether she should ask Tristan to come with her. She could always go up and sleep with her mother but for some reason that she couldn't explain she felt so safe with Tristan.

"Tristan?" she said softly.

"Yea?"

"Would you…do you think that maybe you could stay with me? I…I don't want to be alone."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "What about your mom?"

"She'd understand," Rory said. "Please?"

"Okay."

The got up off the couch and went into her bedroom. Rory laid down immediately but Tristan hesitated. Rolling her eyes a little she patted the empty side of the bed. When he laid beside her she moved closer to him. After a few minutes he stretched his arm around her and pulled her tight. Within minutes she was asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Tristan slowly opened his eyes and for a moment forgot where he was. Then his gaze landed on Rory and the events of the previous evening came rushing back. He unconsciously pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.

"You're a good guy Tristan."

He nearly jumped out of the bed when he heard Lorelai's voice and he whipped his head around to see her sitting in one of the chairs. She smiled at him, obviously finding his reaction funny. He looked back down at Rory to make sure she was still sleeping.

"She didn't want to be alone," he explained.

"Its fine," Lorelai waved. "After what happened to her I wouldn't really expect her to jump into bed with someone, plus you're both fully clothed."

"How…?" he started to ask, indicating the comforter that had them both covered. She grinned. "You checked."

"Better safe than sorry," she said. "I just wanted to make sure that I didn't need to get the hedge clippers."

"Ouch," he winced.

"Are you ever going to tell her?"

"Tell her what?" he asked playing dumb.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," she pursed her lips.

"Yea," he sighed. "I know. But so much has just happened to her. She's vulnerable right now and I don't want to take advantage of that. She feels like she owes me for saving her last night, and I wouldn't want that to be the reason she's with me. I want it to be because she wants to be. So, I'll give her time. Eventually…eventually I'll tell her how I feel."

"You really are a good guy," she smiled. "Despite all the stories she's told me of you."

"I was a jerk to her," he nodded. "I don't know, I guess you can chalk part of it up to kindergarten mentality. Pick on the one you like. And some of it was just be being a jerk. But somewhere along the way, I realized she was different. I realized how special she is. I knew that if I didn't change the way I was that she'd never give me a chance. So I decided to become her friend. It really wasn't starting out that well; I mean we were civil to each other but nowhere near friends yet."

"Well, then maybe that's the one good thing that will come out of this horrible event," Lorelai said.

"Her going through that…I would have rather let her go. I never want her to hurt," he said.

"Well, when the time comes that she realizes she does have feelings for you, you won't have to worry about me," Lorelai said. "I'll definitely support you."

"When she realizes?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yea," she smiled. "When she realizes."

They sat in silence for a few moments until they heard a car horn outside the house. Tristan looked at Lorelai questioningly wondering if she was expecting anyone.

"Christopher," she said. "Her dad."

"Oh boy," Tristan said. "We should probably get up then huh?"

"I'll talk to him," she laughed. "She needs her rest and she looks so comfortable right now."

"You sure?"

"It's fine Tristan."

She left the room then and a few seconds later she heard the front door open. The two of them spoke in hushed voices and he couldn't quite make out the words. Focusing his attention on Rory he smiled softly. She looked so peaceful while she was sleeping, just like an angel. He brought one hand up and brushed back her hair so he could see more of her face.

Lorelai came back into the room a few minutes later followed closely by a tall man whom he assumed could only be Rory's father. He felt very uncomfortable lying in bed with Rory as her father looked on and wondered briefly why he hadn't felt like that when it was just Lorelai.

"You must be Tristan," Christopher said holding out his hand. With his free hand, Tristan reached up and shook it.

"Yes sir," he nodded.

"Thanks for taking care of her," he said.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he said.

"Have you all heard anything yet this morning from the police?" he questioned.

"Not yet," Lorelai replied. "The detective said he'd call this afternoon with an update. I imagine it takes some time to go around talking to all the witnesses. Especially when one of them is Paris. Plus I imagine they have to deal with Eric's father."

"That little son of a bitch better not get off just because he has an important father," Christopher swore.

"Chris," Lorelai said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "We all know it's a possibility, even Rory. We just have to do what we can."

Tristan felt Rory stir in his arms and looked down. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and when she saw him she smiled. He couldn't help but smile back.

"Hi," she said.

"Good morning. How'd you sleep?"

"Good," she replied. "Thanks for staying with me."

"Of course," he said.

Lorelai cleared her throat causing Rory to turn her attention away from him. She grinned when she saw her father and scrambled out of the bed to give him a hug. Tristan immediately missed the feeling of her body pressed against his. Giving himself a mental shake he too got out of the bed.

He silently watched Rory interact with her parents and felt a little out of place. He decided that maybe it was time for him to go home. As much as he wanted to stay with Rory, just to make sure she really was okay, she had her mother and father to take care of her.

"I should probably get going," Tristan said interrupting them. When he saw the look on Rory's face he immediately regretted saying anything. She looked terrified. "Rory?"

"Maybe you could stay for a little while longer," she suggested stepping closer to him. She gripped his arm tightly obviously not wanting him to leave.

He looked up at her parents and they both nodded their okay. "Well. I guess I can stay, but my clothes are pretty sketchy right now. Maybe I should just go home and change and then come back."

He could tell from the look on her face that she didn't even want him to leave for that small amount of time. He wondered if maybe he could just buy clothes somewhere in Stars Hollow. He knew it was a small town, but they had to have at least one clothing store. It really didn't matter what they looked like, as long as he didn't have to leave and Rory quit making that face.

"I've got some extra clothes," Christopher piped in. "They might be a little bit big on you, but you can at least wear them while I make everyone breakfast and you can wash yours. Lor, you're washing machine is functional right?"

"Does storage count?" she asked. Tristan looked at her and she just laughed. "Of course it's functional."

"So you're not leaving?" Rory asked.

"No."

"Okay, good," she said with a smile. "Did someone say something about breakfast? I'm starving."

"She's definitely a Gilmore," Christopher laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

It was almost one in the afternoon by the time they all finished breakfast. Tristan's clothes had finished washing and drying so he went upstairs to shower and change leaving Rory alone with her parents.

"So kiddo," Christopher smiled. "Tristan seems like a really good guy."

"Yea," she smiled back. "He really did turn out to be."

"Isn't this the same boy that teased you mercilessly?" he questioned.

"The one and the same," she nodded.

"He cares about you," he said. "That much is clear."

The telephone rang then saving Rory from having to respond. From the things that Tristan had said the previous night she was beginning to get the feeling that maybe he liked her as more than a conquest. She wasn't sure how she felt about him and with everything that was going on she wasn't sure she even wanted to deal with it right now. She was glad that he seemed willing to give her time.

"That was the detective," Lorelai said. "He's on his way over; he needs to talk to us."

"Is it good or bad?" Rory asked.

"He didn't say, and I couldn't tell from his tone," she answered.

"Okay. I wonder what's taking Tristan so long," she commented.

"Honey," Lorelai laughed. "He's only been up there like ten minutes."

"Oh. It seemed longer."

"I'm fine with him staying tonight if it will make you feel more comfortable," Lorelai said. "But you do have to realize that he can't stay here indefinitely. Eventually he'll have to go home."

"I know," she said softly. "But I just feel safer with him here. I don't know why, I can't explain it or anything, I just do."

"I understand honey. I'm not saying I'm going to kick him out of here or anything. We'll give it some time. I just don't want you to get so used to him being here that when it is time for him to go home that it makes it even harder on you," Lorelai explained.

"I know," she sighed. "Besides I'm not even sure he'd want to stay."

"Rory," Christopher said. "This boy will do anything for you. If you ask him to stay, he's not going to turn you down."

"Are you guys okay with this? I mean, I know it must be a little weird right?"

"Maybe a little," Lorelai admitted. "But after what you went through last night, I understand. But when you two start dating, the sleepovers are definitely not allowed."

"What do you mean when we…" Rory didn't finish her sentence because she heard Tristan's footsteps on the stairs. A few seconds later he walked into the kitchen looking refreshed.

"Well it sure is quiet in here and my ears were burning while I was upstairs," Tristan joked. "You guys talking about me?"

Rory blushed and looked away. Thankfully her father noticed.

"The detective called," Christopher said. "He's on his way over."

"Good news or bad news?" Tristan asked.

"We don't know yet," Lorelai answered. "Hey Chris, while you're here, there's a big piece of furniture I need your help in moving."

"I can help you if you need," Tristan offered.

"No, we got it," Lorelai said before taking Christopher by the arm and leading him out of the room.

Rory almost laughed. She knew that her mother was giving her time to talk to Tristan alone and she was a little grateful and a little nervous.

"And then there were two," Tristan smiled taking the seat next to her.

"I was kind of wondering if you would stay here again tonight," she said, her voice soft.

"Are your parents okay with that?" he questioned.

"Yea," she nodded.

"If you want me to stay Rory, I will be more than happy to," he paused. "Can I ask why?"

She had been hoping he'd bypass that question. "I just feel safer when you're here."

"I'm here for you Rory, whatever you need."

The doorbell rang and Rory wondered how the detective got there so fast. He must have called while he was already on his way. She and Tristan made their way into the living room as her father was opening the door.

"Hello Lorelai, Rory, Tristan," he greeted. "I'm guessing you're Rory's father."

"Yes," Christopher nodded.

"So Detective Roberts," Lorelai said once they were all seated in the living room. "What's happening?"

"I have good news and bad news," Detective Roberts started.

Tristan, who was sitting beside Rory reached over and took her hand. When she looked up at him he gave her an encouraging smile.

"What's the bad news?" Rory asked.

"The bad news is that this wasn't Eric's first time drugging his date," he replied. "Which judging by your all's faces, that's not news to you. As we were interviewing witnesses today, there were several other girls who stepped forward. Rory, you were incredibly lucky that Mr. Dugray got to you. These other girls, they were all raped," he explained.

Rory could feel the tears already threatening to spill and tried to push them back. She felt so sorry for those other girls. She was having such a hard time with what happened to her, and it was barely anything compared to the others. She had no idea how they had dealt with it.

"Because of these other girls, and the several witnesses from last night the DA is going to charge Eric with several counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and several counts of illegal use of drugs," Detective Roberts said.

The entire group let out a sigh of relief. Rory wiped her eyes and looked at the detective. "What about his father? Is he going to try and get Eric off?"

"No," he shook his head. "His father, while a high profile judge, is known for being very intolerant to date rape drugs and rape. He's already made a statement today that while he loves his son very much, he knows that he's done something wrong and he needs to face the consequences."

"Thank God," Christopher said.

"The DA is going to offer Eric a deal," Detective Roberts said. "He's going to have to spend some time in jail, not as much as if there were a trial, but enough that you won't have to even worry about him for a long time. The DA is only offering the deal so that you and the other girls aren't forced to testify."

"Okay," Rory nodded. "I think I can handle that."

"Rory, you did a good thing by stepping forward. If one of the other girls had done so then maybe you wouldn't have been put in this situation. I understand it was difficult for them, and I'm not saying anything bad about them, but I just wanted you to know how strong you are. You stood up against someone who you thought might not get in any trouble because of his father, but you went ahead. You're probably saving a lot of girls from being violated by this boy."

"That's what I wanted," Rory said. "To make sure he can't do this to anyone else."

"We're going to see to that."

"What if Eric doesn't take the deal?" Tristan asked.

"Well, I'm sure that his father and lawyer will advise him to take it, but if he doesn't, then unfortunately we'll have to go to trial. Both of you would have to testify as well as the other girls who've stepped forward. I'm pretty confident that it won't come to that, but if so, then the DA will contact you," he replied.

Rory leaned in a little closer to Tristan so he put his arm around her shoulders. She felt relieved that she wouldn't have to recant her story in front of dozens of strangers and was thankful that the other girls wouldn't have to either.

"Well, I just wanted to deliver the news to you in person," Detective Roberts said, standing up. "I still have a lot of work to do on this case so I should head out."

"Thank you," Rory said.

"All the best to you Rory," he smiled. "You seem to have family that loves you and a great boyfriend who's supportive and caring. Make sure you let them help you."

Nobody bothered to correct the detective about Tristan not being Rory's boyfriend. From the way they were sitting, it would have seemed to anyone that they were dating.

Christopher and Lorelai walked the detective outside while the two teenagers sank back in the couch, still holding onto each other.

"Alright boys and girls," Lorelai said as they came back into the room. "What do we say about a movie night?"

"Sounds perfect," Rory grinned. "Tristan?"

"It does sound like fun, but I do need to run to my house quickly. If I'm staying here again tonight, I do need to get a change of clothes," he said. He saw the expression on Rory's face and felt bad. "But hey, you're more than welcome to come with me. It won't take long."

"Okay," she nodded. "That could work."

"Alright, then while you two run to Tristan's house, Christopher and I will get the staples," Lorelai suggested.

"Okay, but no horror movies," Rory said. "I'm really not in the mood to be scared."

"No horror movies, gotcha," she replied. "We'll get comedies and chick flicks."

Both guys groaned, but didn't comment. There obviously wasn't a point; the two girls would win any time. All they had to do was give them a little pout and they could practically get anything they wanted.


	7. Chapter 7

The four of them had spent the entire evening watching movies and eating junk food. By the time ten o'clock rolled around they were all pretty tired. Lorelai got some blankets and a pillow for Christopher to sleep on the couch before they all headed to bed.

"It feels really weird coming to bed with you while you're parents are here, especially when you're dad is sleeping on the couch," Tristan said as they went into her room. Rory just laughed at him.

"I'm going to run upstairs and change into my pajamas, you can change in here if you want," she offered.

"Alright. I'll be quick," he said.

Once she'd shut the door behind him he quickly changed into the sleep clothes he'd picked up then walked around her bedroom looking around. She had a lot of framed pictures sitting around, most of them of her and her mother. There were a couple of a Korean looking girl that he assumed was her best friend Lane that he'd heard so much about. When he came to one of her and Dean, holding hands and laughing he couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy.

"You decent?" Rory called out as she rapped her knuckles on the door.

"Yea," he said.

"Making yourself at home?" she questioned, her tone clearly teasing.

"Just looking at all your pictures," he replied. "You and your mother are really best friends huh."

"Yea," she nodded moving to stand next to him. She pointed at the Korean girl. "That's of course Lane, my best friend."

"I figured," he smiled.

"Oh," she sighed, noticing the one of her and Dean. "I thought I'd taken all those down."

He watched her as she grabbed the frame and carried it to her closet. Almost carelessly she tossed it into a cardboard box before turning back around with what Tristan knew was a forced smile.

"You okay?"

"Yea," she nodded. "Just tired."

"Come on," he smiled. "Let's get some sleep."

They climbed into bed together, and unlike last night it was anything but uncomfortable. Tristan immediately wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled against him. It felt so natural for him to be holding her and he suddenly wished that he never had to go home. He would be content to hold her every night. He really was in love with her.

"What?" she asked.

"I didn't say anything."

"No, but you just let out a big sigh," she replied. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he smiled at her. "Nothing's wrong."

Rory fell asleep quickly but Tristan wasn't so lucky. He laid there, his armed wrapped tightly around her warm body thinking about what could have happened to her. He knew that if he ever saw Eric again he wouldn't be able to restrain himself from what he wanted to do to him. He just hoped that day never came.

He wanted to be able to protect Rory from all the bad things in the world and while he knew that wasn't realistic he couldn't help the way he felt. He'd never felt like this about any other girl. All the others had always been purely about sex. He'd thought that was the way it would always be, sleeping with any willing girl, never calling her again except for a booty call, until he met Rory. Rory was so different than all the girls he'd dated. She was more special than all of them put together.

It had hurt him to know that she didn't feel the same way, and to be honest he couldn't blame her. He was everything she despised. He was the King of Chilton and he knew it. He could have any girl…except her and she'd made that clear. He wasn't sure why it took him so long to have his epiphany, but one day he realized that if he ever wanted her to take him seriously he was going to have to change. She didn't want a player and she sure as hell wasn't into casual sex. He needed to show her that he could be a good guy, that he only wanted her.

So he'd quit purposely making out with girls in front of her locker, in fact he'd pretty much quit making out with girls period. His little black book, yes as pathetic as it sounds he'd actually had a little black book, had been thrown away and he'd ignored the phone calls he got from other girls.

He'd started being nicer to her, but a few times he had made his usual asinine comments to her before he'd relized it. He had liked making her nervous, had liked making her blush and had been so good at it too.

His thoughts turned to that one single kiss they'd shared, sitting alone with her on that piano bench. The one kiss, as brief as it had been, that had meant so much to him. He'd been hoping that the kiss had meant she'd finally give him a chance, but a few days later she'd told him it was a mistake. He hadn't thought it was, but he'd been a little hurt so he'd agreed with her.

When he had told her, after the whole Paris fiasco, that he still had feelings for someone else he couldn't believe that she had been so blind to think that it was Summer. Everybody knew, although they didn't say anything, that he had a thing for her. He just wasn't so sure that any of them knew how serious it was.

She'd practically broken his heart the day that she got back together with Dean and announced loudly in the parking lot that she hated him. He'd gone home that day and for the first time since he was a little boy, he'd cried. He'd thought that he'd lost her forever, even though technically he'd never had her to begin with.

It wasn't until a few months ago when he'd heard the rumor that she and Dean had broken up that he thought maybe he'd finally have a chance with her. That's when he decided to change.

His thoughts were interrupted by Rory whimpering. He looked down at her and saw that her expression was one of terror. She was having a nightmare.

"Rory?" he said softly shaking her. "Rory."

"Don't touch me," she practically screamed as her eyes slammed open. She looked around the room, still obviously frightened before her gaze landed on Tristan. She relaxed for only a second before breaking down into tears.

Tristan put his arms around her, pulling her as tight as he could, and smoothed down her hair. A few minutes later the bedroom door opened, Rory didn't move but he looked up and saw Lorelai and Christopher. Lorelai walked over and sat down beside Rory on the bed.

"Honey?" she said softly.

Rory just clung tighter to Tristan. He looked at Lorelai apologetically but she just shook her head. They all stayed silent as Rory cried, and after several minutes she calmed down but still didn't move. After a while, Tristan realized she'd fallen back asleep.

"It's good she has you," Lorelai said. "I think she's going to need you a lot in the next couple weeks. Especially Monday when she has to go back to school."

"I'm going to be here," he said firmly. Lorelai nodded and stood up.

"Call us if you need us," she said before ushering Christopher out of the room and closing the door.

He stayed awake for a while longer, just to make sure she was okay before allowing himself to close his eyes. Sleep came quickly.


	8. Chapter 8

Sunday came and went without anything really happening. Lorelai went to work while Rory stayed home with Tristan and Christopher. They pretty much parked in front of the television and didn't move. Rory needed a completely relaxing day in order to prepare herself for going back to school.

Rory didn't even have to ask Tristan to stay the night, for which she was grateful, he had just assumed she'd want him to. He'd warned her though that they'd have to leave a little earlier than her usual time so that they could stop by his house for his uniform.

They'd gone to bed pretty much the same as the previous night, nothing uncomfortable between them. Rory slept soundly, without nightmares. When she woke up the next morning she felt ready for Chilton.

That was, until they got there. Tristan had pulled his car into the parking lot and Rory felt a sense of dread in her stomach. She figured that everyone knew what had happened over the weekend, Chilton was gossip central afterall, and assumed that everyone would be talking about it. She just wanted to forget that Friday night had happened.

"You ready?" Tristan asked.

"Do we have to go in?" she asked in a small voice. "Can't we go somewhere else?"

"Rory, we have to go to school."

"But you skip all the time," she argued.

"I don't skip all the time," he corrected her. "And I know that you're really scared and nervous, but if we don't go in today then you're just going to feel like this tomorrow too."

"I know," she sighed. "Promise you'll stay with me?"

"Definitely," he nodded. "We have the first two periods together. The classes we don't share, I'll drop you off and pick you up."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"For what?"

"I'm depending on you too much," she said. "You shouldn't have to drop me off at class and pick me up."

"For today at least," he insisted. "It's going to be a hard day for you, and I promised you that I'd be here for you."

"If I start to become too much, promise that you'll tell me?" she asked.

"That won't happen."

"Just promise."

"Okay," he sighed. "I promise."

Ever so slowly she opened the door and climbed out of the car. Tristan did the same and walked around to her. Taking her by the hand, he led her towards the entrance. She was keeping her head down, not wanting to look anybody in the eye, but she could hear a few people whispering. She caught both her and Eric's name and felt sick to her stomach. How was she going to make it through the day?

"Rory?"

"Yea?" she asked looking up at Tristan's face.

"You're going to be fine," he assured her. "You're strong, you'll get through this day and tomorrow things will have calmed down."

"Do you think people are mad at me?"

"For what?"

"Because I got Eric in trouble? He was popular, he had a lot of friends," she said.

"Nobody is going to mad at you," he promised. "I'm sure that everyone realizes that what he did was wrong."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I guess I can't."

She tightened her grip on his hand and held her head up high as they walked into the school. She glanced briefly at the staring faces and was relieved when she didn't see any anger in their expressions. What she mostly saw was pity and she didn't want that either. She had made it out easy, the other girls that he'd hurt were worse off than her.

As they neared her locker she saw Paris waiting for them. She and Paris weren't friends, they still had a lot of animosity between them, and Rory hoped her being with Tristan wouldn't make it worse.

"How are you doing?" Paris asked as they stopped beside her.

"It's hard, but I think I'll be okay," she said with a quick smile to Tristan. "Listen Paris, I wanted to thank you for everything you did on Friday night. I know that we aren't exactly friends, but I appreciate it all the same. If it weren't for you and Tristan…just thank you."

"It doesn't matter what's happened between us, you don't deserve what Eric was going to do to you," Paris said.

"Thanks."

"Just keep holding your head up high Gilmore. People are going to talk about it for a while, they're going to pity you but eventually they'll stop. Just stay strong," Paris said.

"I'm going to try," Rory replied.

"I'll see you two in English," she said before turning and walking away.

"Wow," Rory said. "I think that's the most civilized conversation I've had with her in a long time."

"Paris is a good person," he smiled. "She'll give you some time to deal with this before starting the torture again."

"Is that what you're doing?" she asked.

"What? Giving you time before going back to the way things were?" he asked. She nodded. "No. I don't plan on things going back to the way they were."

"Good," she said. "I don't want them to."

She opened her locker and shoved the books from her backpack inside and took out her English book. She was glad that she was somewhat of a geek and had finished all her homework on Friday afternoon before going to the party. Otherwise, she'd have been behind.

"Ready?" Tristan asked.

"Let's go to class," she nodded. As they began walking he again took her hand and Rory realized how much she actually enjoyed it. She knew that pretty soon she was going to have to sort out her feelings for Tristan, but for the moment she didn't have to worry about it.

The morning classes went relatively smoothly for Rory. In the two that she shared with Tristan, he'd sat right behind her. For the most part the other students kept quiet, but every once in a while she'd hear whispering. She wasn't sure that they were all talking about her, but she knew that some of them were.

Lunch period was what worried Rory the most. There weren't any teachers or class work to focus on and she wouldn't be able to ignore everyone's looks and whispers. She watched the clock with dread and when the bell finally rang she headed out of the room. When she saw Tristan waiting for her already she relaxed and realized that she'd be fine. He'd be right beside her.

"How'd you get here so fast?" she asked as they started towards the lunchroom.

"I have my ways," he grinned.

"I bet you do," she said with a small laugh.

"It's good to see you laugh," he said as a girl that Rory didn't know walked towards them.

"Rory right?" she asked.

"Yea."

"Can…can I talk to you?" she asked, glancing nervously at Tristan. "Alone?"

Rory looked up at Tristan and noticed that he didn't seem too fond of the idea of leaving her side. "I'll meet you in the cafeteria."

"Alright," he nodded. "I'll get our food and sit at your regular table."

"Okay," she said. Once he had walked away she turned to the girl. "So, what's your name?"

"Brooke," she said. "I heard about what happened to you on Friday night."

"Oh," Rory sighed hoping the girl wasn't here just to weasel information out of her.

"Everybody said you went to the police, that you took a stand," she said fidgeting with her sleeves.

"Yes, I did go to the police. What he did was wrong, and he deserves to face the consequences," Rory replied.

"I know," she nodded. "I agree with you. What he does is wrong. He takes advantage of girls and really messes them up. They can't sleep, they can't eat. They're afraid to sleep, they jump at shadows. I'm…I'm just glad that he's going to be put away."

"Brooke, did something happen to you? I mean did Eric…" Rory trailed off not wanting to voice the word.

"Yea," she nodded, looking down at her feet as if ashamed. "He…I wasn't as lucky as you were. I didn't have anyone to save me."

"I'm sorry Brooke," Rory said touching the girls shoulder.

"If I was strong enough to come forward after what happened, then he wouldn't have done anything to you," Brooke said, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry Rory. I could have stopped him and I didn't."

"Hey," Rory said. "Don't do that. You can't blame yourself for his actions. Maybe it was easier for me to come forward because he didn't succeed with me. Maybe if he had…raped me, then I would have been just as scared."

"I feel responsible."

"You shouldn't," Rory said firmly. "None of this is your fault."

"I never told anyone," she whispered. "Not even my family."

Rory looked at her in surprise. "It might help you to. Talking about it might be good."

"I'm afraid they're going to be mad at me," she said.

"They're not going to," Rory insisted. "You did nothing wrong. Eric took advantage of you. Even if he hadn't drugged you…"

"He didn't," Brooke interrupted. "That's the thing. He didn't drug me, he just…he knew I was weaker than him. He knew that I couldn't fight back so he just took what he wanted."

"Oh God," Rory said. "I'm so sorry Brooke."

"I just wanted to thank you," Brooke said. "Because of you, Eric is in jail. Maybe I'll be able to sleep now."

"If you ever need to talk I'm here okay?" Brooke nodded. "I still think you should confide in your parents. Maybe they can help you."

"I don't know. I'll think about it," she said softly.

"Alright."

"I'll see you around."

"Are you going to be okay?" Rory asked.

"I hope so."

Rory watched Brooke walk away and felt incredibly sad. With a sigh she headed towards the cafeteria not even noticing any of the other Chilton students. She sat beside Tristan and when he turned to face her she leaned against him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she let the tears fall.


	9. Chapter 9

It had taken several days for everyone to stop whispering and talking about Rory, and by the time they did she'd learned how to ignore it. Tristan had spent Monday night with her, but on Tuesday everyone agreed that it would be best for him to go home so that Rory didn't get too used to it. Although she knew that it was the right thing to do, Rory spent almost the whole first night alone laying awake in bed wishing he were there. They'd also heard from Detective Roberts who informed them that Eric had taken the deal. He would be going to a juvenile detention center until he was 21.

So, all in all the week had gone pretty smoothly despite all that Rory had gone through. She knew that she it was time to start moving on and maybe time to sort out her feelings for Tristan. Even though he was no longer staying the night with her they were still spending a great deal of time together. He picked her up for school, even though she argued with him since it was out of his way, had lunch together everyday and after school he'd driver her home and they'd spend hours doing homework and watching television.

The more time that they spent together, the more Rory's feelings started to become clear. She couldn't ignore the way her pulse raced when he touched her or the incredible fluttering in her belly when he put his arms around her, which he did often. They had talked about their feelings though, and she was well aware that he was waiting for her to bring it up. He didn't want to rush her into anything and while he'd never said the words she knew that he wanted her to make sure her feelings were real and not just because he'd saved her.

She'd spent countless nights thinking about it, running everything through her head. She came to realize that the feelings she had weren't just out of gratitude for what he'd done for her. The feelings had actually manifested way back when they'd shared their single kiss. But because of their history and her recent breakup with Dean she'd pushed them to the back of her mind so she wouldn't have to deal with them.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

She turned at the sound of Tristan's voice and saw him leaning against the doorway of her bedroom. She couldn't help but notice how sexy he looked leaning like that.

"So, it's been three weeks," he said.

"Yep," she nodded. "I think I'm going to be okay."

"Good," he smiled.

"So, there's something important that I want to talk to you about," she said after taking a deep breath. "Something I've been spending a lot of time thinking about."

He looked at her questioningly and before she could continue the telephone rang. Groaning at their impeccable timing she climbed off the bed and picked up the telephone.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Is this Rory?"

"Yes, who's this?"

"My name is Patricia Morgan," the lady said. "I'm Brooke's mother."

Rory could tell that something was wrong and her heart started pounding. "What's going on?"

"Brooke…Brooke attempted suicide today," she said, her voice breaking.

"Oh my God."

"You're the only friend that she ever talked about, and I found your number in her cell phone," Mrs. Morgan said.

"I'm on my way to the hospital," Rory said, disconnecting the phone and tossing it onto the bed.

"What's wrong?"

Rory explained to Tristan what was going on as she quickly wrote her mother a note. He told her that he was going with her and within a few minutes they were on their way.

A couple days after Brooke had admitted to Rory about the rape she'd asked Rory to talk. She still hadn't confided in her parents, much to Rory's disapproval, and she seemed to get more and more depressed as time went by. Brooke had thought that she would start feeling better since Eric was gone, but she wasn't. Rory knew it was because she was keeping everything bottled up inside of her. Although she talked to Rory about it a little bit, she still hadn't given her all the details. Rory knew that if Brooke didn't deal with it that she'd never get better.

"Are you okay?" Tristan asked.

"I feel so bad," Rory said tearfully. "Brooke confided in me and I couldn't help her. She just seemed to get worse and worse."

"Don't do that Rory."

"Do what?"

"Start blaming yourself. This isn't your fault. It's Eric's."

"I know, but I just wish I could have convinced her to talk to her parents. Maybe she could have gotten some real help then," she said.

"You tried," he said reaching over and taking her hand. "Brooke had to take the next step."

They remained silent for the rest of the ride and once they got there they walked into the hospital hand in hand. Tristan asked the nurse at the front desk where Brooke was and after getting directions they headed upstairs. Rory immediately knew which woman was Brooke's mother, they were practically identical.

"Mrs. Morgan?"

"Rory?"

"Yes," she nodded. "How is she?"

"Her stomach has been pumped but she's not awake yet. The doctors said that it may take some time but that she should make a full recovery," she replied as her husband put his arm around her shoulders.

"We just wish we knew what was wrong," Mr. Morgan said. "She's been so different for the past few weeks and she just won't talk to us. We wish we could have helped her."

"I know," Rory said.

"Do you know what happened? Do you know why she changed all of a sudden?" Mrs. Morgan questioned.

Rory glanced up at Tristan for a moment silently asking him what to do. He shook his head, he had no idea. Closing her eyes for a second she thought about it. If she told them what had happened she took the chance of upsetting Brooke which definitely wasn't a good idea. But if she didn't tell them, they wouldn't know how to help her.

"You know something don't you?" Mr. Morgan asked.

"I do," Rory said, opening her eyes. "I'm just not sure if it's my place to say anything. I've tried to get Brooke to talk to you, but she's afraid. She's been worried that you guys would be upset with her."

"It doesn't matter what she did, she's our daughter and we love her. There's nothing that could happen that would change that."

"Alright," Rory sighed. "This is going to be hard for you to hear. Maybe we should go somewhere a little more private."

The four of them found an empty waiting room and all took a seat. Rory took a deep breath before starting.

"Several weeks ago Brooke was raped," Rory said.

"Oh my God," Mrs. Morgan cried, tears beginning to trail down her face. "Oh dear God, my baby."

"Does she know who it was?" Mr. Morgan asked, his jaw clenched tightly. Rory had no doubt that he wanted to kill him.

"Yes," Rory nodded. "She confided in me only because a few weeks ago I was attacked by the same guy. He drugged me while we were on a date at a party and took me upstairs. I was lucky, Tristan here stopped him before he could do anything to me. I went to the police and told them what happened and as they were interviewing the witness from that night several other girls came forward saying that Eric had drugged and raped them."

"What happened to him? Is he in jail?"

"He's in a juvenile detention center," Tristan spoke up. "The DA didn't want to make things worse for the victims so he made a deal with Eric."

"So she was drugged too?"

"No," Rory said softly. "Brooke is so small and I guess he thought…I guess he knew that she wouldn't be able to fight against him. After she heard about what happened to me, she confided in me. She hasn't told me everything, she's been keeping it bottled up inside of her. I guess it just got to be too much for her to handle."

"How could she think we'd be mad at her?" Mrs. Morgan asked. "It isn't her fault."

"I'm not sure she sees it that way," Rory said. "She thinks it's her fault and I've tried to convince her otherwise but I guess I haven't been helping at all."

"Mr. and Mrs. Morgan?" All four of them looked up to see a nurse standing in the doorway. "Brooke's awake now. You can go in and see her."

The Morgan's immediately stood and head for the door. Mrs. Morgan stopped before passing through and turned around. "You're coming right?"

"Of course," Rory nodded standing up as well. She took Tristan's hand and pulled him up too.

They followed the Morgan's down the hallway and into the Brooke's room but they didn't go much further than the door. When Brooke saw her parents she started to cry.

"Oh honey," her mom said leaning down to hug her. "Rory told us what happened. I'm so sorry sweetie."

"I was so afraid to tell you," Brooke said, her voice but a whisper. "I was so afraid you'd be angry with me."

"There's nothing to be angry about," Mr. Morgan said firmly. "You did nothing wrong honey. This isn't your fault."

Brooke looked up at Rory in the doorway. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She and Tristan stayed for another hour, making sure that Brooke would be alright before heading back to Rory's house. Her mother was home and waiting for them on the porch, pulling Rory into a tight hug as soon as she walked up.

"Are you parents still out of town?" Lorelai asked Tristan.

"Yea."

"Why don't you stay here tonight then?"

"Okay," he nodded.

"Good, let's go to Luke's for dinner," she suggested. "Let me just run inside and grab my purse."

"Are you busy tomorrow?" Rory asked, once her mother had gone in the house.

"No."

"I was wondering if maybe we could talk," she said.

"Of course," he smiled.

"Good," she said returning the smile.

"Alright kids, I'm starving so let's go."


	10. Chapter 10

Tristan woke up to a loud crash. He jumped at the sound and rolled right off of the couch. When he heard giggling he looked up to see Lorelai coming down the stairs. He glared at her.

"That was not funny."

"Oh yes it was. Trust me," she said, still laughing.

"What was that noise?" he asked.

"Sounds like it came from the kitchen. Rory!" she yelled.

"Yea?"

"What are you doing?"

"Umm…" she said her voice sounding incredibly guilty. "Promise you won't be mad?"

Tristan and Lorelai looked at each other before heading directly into the kitchen. There they found Rory, covered in flour and a huge mess on the floor. Tristan couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked in her pajamas and a 'Kiss the Chef' apron on. She had flour all of herself. When she saw him smiling she stuck her lower lip out in a pout.

"What are you doing?" Lorelai asked.

"I was trying to cook breakfast," she defended. "I watched Dad do it while he was here, and I read the instructions. But it just wasn't working out, and then as I was trying to carry the skillet over to the sink…I kind of dropped it."

"Honey," Lorelai said. "You know that we can't cook, there's no use trying."

"I thought it would be nice."

"It would have been," Tristan said covering up another smile. "Hey, it's the thought that counts."

"I guess we'll just go to Luke's for breakfast then," she sighed.

"I can't join you," Lorelai said. "I agreed to have brunch with Grandma today."

"What? Tristan is the world coming to an end?"

"Oh be quiet," Lorelai said. "She tricked me into it."

"Alright. I guess it's just you and me Tristan," Rory smiled.

"Why don't you…go get cleaned up and I'll start in here," he suggested.

"Alright," she grinned before heading up to take a shower.

"So, Rory told me that you two are going to have a talk today," Lorelai smiled, leaning down to help him clean up.

"Yea," he nodded. "I don't know what it's about though."

"Hmm, we'll I'm sure you'll be pleased," she said.

Tristan looked up at her questioningly but she just shook her head indicating she wasn't going to say anymore. Sighing he went back to cleaning up.

By the time that Rory came back down he'd finished the kitchen and Lorelai had left. He grabbed the extra set of clothes that he'd stashed in Rory's room and headed to shower himself. When he was finished they walked to Luke's hand in hand. As they ate their breakfast they talked briefly about Brooke and school and other trivial things and Tristan wondered if she'd decided against the 'talk'.

"Let's go for a walk," she suggested after they were finished. He followed her and they walked in silence. A few minutes later they came to a secluded bridge and Rory took a seat on the edge, letting her feet dangle. When he sat beside her she didn't immediately say anything so he just waited patiently.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately," she said.

"About?" he asked when she didn't continue.

"Me. You," she shrugged. "My feelings."

His heart started pounding and he knew that this was the moment. She had decided if she wanted to be with him. He knew that the words that soon would be coming out of her mouth would either break his heart or make him incredibly happy. She was going to tell them if they were going to remain friends or if they could venture into something more.

"Okay," he said. "And what have you concluded."

"You have done so much for me these past few weeks Tristan and I'm not sure if I can ever repay you," she started.

"You don't have to repay me," he insisted. "I wanted to be here for you, I wanted to help you."

"I know," she nodded. "You showed me what kind of guy you really are. You're not the arrogant ass that I thought you were, you're so much more than that. Do you remember our kiss?"

"Every day," he replied.

"Yea," she smiled faintly. "I think that's what started everything. The night that everything happened, before it all happened, I was dancing with Eric. I remember thinking that there was nothing between us, no spark. He didn't make me feel…nervous or excited. It was like dancing with a friend. I wanted the butterflies, the racing heartbeat, the excitement. The kind of feelings I had that night with you on the piano bench."

"I didn't know I made you feel like that," he said.

"You did. And I ignored it. I pushed it all to the back of my mind and wouldn't let it surface. Dean and I had just split and I needed to deal with that. Then, I don't know, you were still…the King of Chilton Tristan. The kind of guy that I could see breaking my heart so I never dealt with my feelings for you," she explained. "But you've showed me what kind of guy you really are. You let me see the real you. The sweet and caring guy that will do anything for me. That night after…after Eric, you told me that you'd tell me one day why you were being so nice to me. I know you didn't want to push me into anything and I really appreciate it because I wasn't ready then. But now I am."

"You want me to tell you why I changed?" he asked.

"Yea."

"Okay," he nodded. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm in love with you."

Rory looked at him in shock, obviously not having expected that to come out of his mouth. Her mouth was opening and closing and she slightly resembled a fish at the moment. He would have laughed, but he was too nervous about her reaction.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"No," she said quickly. "I'm sorry, I was just shocked. I mean, I thought you liked me, but I didn't realize…I didn't know that…"

"That I loved you?" he asked. She nodded. "I do. I'm not just saying it. I fell in love with you Rory. You're so different than any girl I've ever been with. You're special. You make me want to be a better person, different than the type of guy I used to be."

"So you're in love with me," she said, obviously still a little surprised.

"I am," he said. "I'm sorry if this makes you feel uncomfortable."

"It's fine," she said. "I just didn't realize. I mean, I like you Tristan, but…"

"I don't expect you to say it back," he smiled. "If you ever tell me that you love me, then I want it to be because you feel that way, not because you think it's what I want to hear."

It was his turn to be surprised because all of a sudden she leaned forward, grabbed his shoulders and kissed him. It took him a second to realize what had happened but when he did he returned the kiss with equal fervor.

"Well," Tristan said once they pulled back. "That was unexpected."

"I can't tell you that I love you," Rory said. "But I can tell you that I like you. I want to try a relationship with you. And I think that I'll be able to fall in love with you."

Tristan grinned. "Does that mean I can kiss you whenever I want?"

"Oh yea."

"Great," he smiled, pulling her in for another kiss.

They spent several hours sitting on that bridge alternating between long kisses and talking. By the time they got back to the house Lorelai was already home. She took one look at them and grinned. "So I guess that means no more sleepovers?"

Rory and Tristan looked at each other and laughed.

* * *

And that's it guys. I have some ideas for a sequal, but I haven't started yet. Until I completley finish it, I won't post it. 


End file.
